I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit on a dual-core 64-bit Laptop. Windows is updated completely as of 3 weeks ago (when I heard that SP1 was coming out I turned off automatic updates; I have learned to wait until SP updates have been thoroughly tested by others before I install them). I do Tech Support for a living and am familiar with permissions and Active Directory. I am new to Windows 7 and do not use it at work. I am the only account on the computer, I am the only Administrator account. I have read all of the threads related to my issue and either none of the fixes apply to my problem, or the issues are different enough from mine that the fix does not apply to me. Problem: I am getting the notorious "you don't have permission to save in this location" when I try to save documents in a number of sub-directories. I am given the choice of saving to the 'my documents' folder directly, but that makes organizing files very tedious. Not all sub-folders are affected. The Security settings for the ones that I am denied permission to save to are: - MAIN\users: no modify, write or full control. - Administrators: Full Control. Most disturbing is that some sub-folders (on the security tab) have my correct user info: - Myname (COMPUTERNAME-MAIN\Myname) The folders that do not work properly have different user info: - Users (COMPUTERNAME-MAIN\Users) I surely do not understand how folders created by me end up with different user permissions. And I only suspect how I can be denied Full Control when my account is the only account on the computer and I am an Administrator. UAC is probably the culprit: I will probably end up disabling UAC if I cannot assign the same permissions to all the sub-folders under My Documents. I have hundreds of sub-folders and simply do not have the time to go through each and every one to modify the security settings. I would love to get a reply with a solution, but I will settle for links to a solution or links to a good tutorial about Windows 7 file permissions.

As for the administrator account, you would only be administrator if enabled the account and logged in as that, which is bad Mojo, so do not do it. As for why you can save into some folders, windows 7 file system is unlike XP and so on, i will ASSUME you are not understanding that you can not access the symbolic link folders, those are just pointers for old programs. those symbolic link folders are different than the standard folders they do not look the same. read up here on the file system if you wish to know more The following folders that in win7 user profile are shortcuts. In computing, a symbolic link (also symlink or soft link) is a special type of file that contains a reference to another file or directory in the form of an absolute or relative path and that affects pathname resolution. "Documents and Settings" and "Application Data", "Cookies", "Local Settings", "My Documents", "NetHood", "PrintHood", "Recent", "SendTo", "Start Menu", "Templates These shortcuts in Windows 7 are junction points, which are important parts of application compatibility. As Windows 7 is a new Windows Platform, a lot of applications was not designed for it so that they are not fully compatible with Windows 7. To allow these applications access the data on Windows 7 properly, the shortcuts are designed to redirect the applications to obtain the necessary data in the correct directories. Thus, these shortcuts do not contain any files but a new directory of a certain folder. To avoid deleting or modifying the shortcuts by mistake, Windows 7 sets the Read permissions of these folder to Deny. Actually, the shortcuts are hidden by default. To access these junction points, redirect to the following folders: Note: As some folders are hidden, please refer to the following steps to show all the hidden files. Show hidden folders ============== 1. Open "Computer", and click "Organize" -> "Folder and Search Options". 2. Click the "View" tab. Under "Hidden files and folders", click "Show hidden files and folders." 3. To display other hidden files, clear the "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" check box. Documents and Settings C:\Users Application Data C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming Cookies C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies Local Settings C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Local My Documents C:\Users\User_name\Documents NetHood C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts PrintHood C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts Recent C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent SendTo C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo Start Menu C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu Templates C:\Users\User_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates

Thanks BubbaPCguy! Yours is the first post I have seen on this issue that has detailed information on how the folders and permissions work in win 7. I understand how symlinks work. I do not understand yet what I need to change. You advise "To access these junction points, redirect to the following folders:" What do I need to do when I access the junction points, and what do I redirect, and where do I redirect to? Are you saying that I need to change the security settings on the 'My Documents' folder/shortcut in order to have full control over the sub-folders? Or that I have to change the security settings on ALL of the listed folders/shortcuts in order to save a document to a sub-folder of 'My Documents'? I did change the settings on both the 'my documents' folder and the 'my documents' shortcut. After rebooting I tried to save a Notepad text file to one of the sub-folders I am trying to use: it now tells me "A required privilege is not held by the client" is now what is blocking me. I am going to try to assume Windows 7 does not ship with applications built into it that are not fully compatible with Windows 7, but I would not be surprised to learn that it does. The same happens with Word 2007, Firefox 3.6.8, and IE 8: "A required privilege is not held by the client" is the result. If IE 8 is not compatible with windows 7, then I am hard-pressed to imagine an application that IS compatible! So far, turning off UAC is the only way I can save files to the hundreds of sub-folders under 'my documents'. I would prefer not to do that, but if there is no other solution I really have no choice. Should I un-check "Include inheritable permissions from this object's parent" in the main sub-folders under 'my documents'? UPDATE: I tried "taking ownership" of the folder, which was successful: I set the ownership to be identical to the sub-folders that DO allow me to save files to them. No luck with that. There are no "deny" boxes checked anywhere; I checked is advanced settings, etc, etc. All say "Full control" for all users on the computer. I just created a new folder in My Documents and moved everything in the problem folder/directory to the new one. No dice. I tried checking "Replace all child object permissions..." - the box just un-checks itself! I just don't get it!!! What the heck is causing this problem?

Hi, Would you please give me some samples about what folders cannot be used to save files? I would like to test the issue for you. Does it work, if you right click on the programs and run them as administrator? To troubleshoot this issue, you may refer to the following Microsoft article first: Troubleshoot "access denied" when opening files or folders Regards,Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Hi Arthur, It is a set of sub-folders under the 'My Documents' folder. I have my files organized int about 8 sub-folders under My Documents; all of the other sub-folders work fine, it is only this one that has issues. Unfortunately it is the one with my most often used and important files. Yes, if I run the programs as Administrator I am able to save files to the 'problem' sub-folder. The same is true if I turn off UAC. All my other folder and sub-folders have no issues: pictures, downloads, etc - all have no problems. I have performed all of the steps in the Troubleshooting link: the problem persists. Prior to that I used to get the "you don't have permission to save in this location" message, so the troubleshooting steps had a small effect. Opening files is not the issue, but if I edit a document and try to save it, I get the 'access denied' message. I can save them directly to the 'My Documents' folder, and I can move them into the "problem" sub-folder (not a long-term solution as I edit a few documents every day). The same is true if I try to download a file or document. I have spent hours searching online and have yet to find a solution. Very unfortunately, the problem folder is where my resume and cover letters for job-hunting are. I have even tried creating a new sub-folder and copying everything into it. I can now save documents freely to the new sub-folder, but not to any of the folders beneath it where I keep my various cover letters, versions of my resume, job post data, etc. I have 76 sub-folders that I cannot save to and do not relish creating 76 new sub-folders to replace them; especially when the cause of the problem is unknown and I cannot be certain that creating new sub- folders would work. I would like to find a solution to this issue since administering Windows systems is part of my current freelance work. But finding full-time employment is a much higher priority. If I don't find an answer I will simply have to take the risk of turning UAC off entirely. Best Regards, TRC042

Hi, According to your feedback, this issue is related to UAC instead of the user permissions. For more information about UAC, please refer to the following link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2007.06.uac.aspx Based on the current situation, you may have two options below: 1. Disable UAC 2. Change the save location Regards,Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.